Our beautiful floors were finished on Friday and we were able to start moving in on Sunday. It's nice to have a room again and get Gus back in his room (which will become the guest room). Today, the tile guys should start on our bathroom and (hopefully) finish on Friday. Cabinets are complete and waiting for counter tops. After tile is finished the cabinets and tops can be installed. The carpet in the boys' room (I love saying 'the boys') will be cleaned on Wednesday and then we can start setting things up in there.
We are gathering things for the boys. We have been so blessed with toys and clothes and home items from friends. It's amazing how much stuff little boys need - I've forgotten what 3 and 4 year olds need. We have some wonderful things that we can take with us and that can be played with on the plane. I bought some of the cutest little underwear (Thomas the Train and Cars) for them. The wonderful ladies from my ACTS small group blessed us with a gift card shower last week, so we are able to buy them things later on.
Before we leave in 8 DAYS - one of the main things I want to get done is to take pictures of our home, their room, backyard, dog, church, the school, etc - all things I want them to recognize when we get back. We are also encouraged to leave copies of these pictures with the foster family.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Travel date announced
Yesterday morning, January 26, 2012, I got the travel call from our agency. We are to be in Hungary on Feb. 9th for our court appointment on the 10th. This is the first day that we will meet the boys. I can't believe that the day is finally here!
I wonder what that first meeting (and the subsequent meetings) will be like. Will they let me hug them? Will they have any interest in us? Do they fully understand what will happen over the next 6 weeks? I have so many thoughts and emotions running through me right now - which might be why I can't sleep at 4am :)
I also think of all the things we have to get or finish before we leave. We decided to simply remodel a bathroom in December after we accepted the referral. That simple project turned into
"we should paint while we have the bedroom and bathroom empty"
"we should refinish the floor in that room after we paint"
"we should refinish the floors in both bedrooms and the hallway"
So now I feel like we are living in a 1 BR/1 BA apartment! But it's all coming together and if it keeps going like it has the last week, we will be finished on Feb. 6th. This should allow us to enjoy the new master BR and BA for 1 day before we leave for 6 weeks. I hope I didn't jinx myself with that previous sentence.
On Wednesday night, we were blessed with a surprise gift card shower from my ACTS small group. I can't begin to describe everyone's generosity! Aaron was so amazed and thankful when I returned home and told him about the shower. We will be able to pick up a few things before we go and save some of the cards for items we will need after coming back. I'm so thankful for these wonderful, spirit-filled women who have been a part of my life for the past 4 years.
We have also been so blessed by everyone who wants to loan/give us things their own sons have outgrown. I can't begin to thank everyone who has been so generous! These boys will be 2 of the most stylish boys ever to arrive in America!
I am very humbled when I look back over the process and the friends I have made over this journey. While the timeline shows a little over a year for this process, this has really been an almost 5 year journey for us. It was on my ACTS retreat in June 2007, that I first realized this would be God's plan for us. Drew would only be a month old at that time and Sam wouldn't be born for another year. Through the ups and downs of the other things we tried, I look back now and realize that these boys weren't ready to join our family until now and that's why we've waited. A simple conversation with Julie in November 2010 set us on the path to these 2 boys.
Updated timeline of our international adoption process:
12/15/10 - First meeting with Little Miracles (LMI) in Amarillo
2/4/11 - Application accepted by LMI
3/1/11 - Adoption Contract accepted by LMI, begin paperwork
4/25 & 27/11 - Home study interviews
6/28/11 - application submitted to USCIS
8/29/11 - approval from USCIS
9/8/11 - Dossier complete and ready for submission to Hungary
11/29/11 - Received referral acceptance call and saw pictures of the boys for the 1st time
12/16/11 - Changed our lives for ever (better!) with a simple "Yes"
1/23/12 - Received USCIS approval
1/26/12 - Received travel call
I wonder what that first meeting (and the subsequent meetings) will be like. Will they let me hug them? Will they have any interest in us? Do they fully understand what will happen over the next 6 weeks? I have so many thoughts and emotions running through me right now - which might be why I can't sleep at 4am :)
I also think of all the things we have to get or finish before we leave. We decided to simply remodel a bathroom in December after we accepted the referral. That simple project turned into
"we should paint while we have the bedroom and bathroom empty"
"we should refinish the floor in that room after we paint"
"we should refinish the floors in both bedrooms and the hallway"
So now I feel like we are living in a 1 BR/1 BA apartment! But it's all coming together and if it keeps going like it has the last week, we will be finished on Feb. 6th. This should allow us to enjoy the new master BR and BA for 1 day before we leave for 6 weeks. I hope I didn't jinx myself with that previous sentence.
On Wednesday night, we were blessed with a surprise gift card shower from my ACTS small group. I can't begin to describe everyone's generosity! Aaron was so amazed and thankful when I returned home and told him about the shower. We will be able to pick up a few things before we go and save some of the cards for items we will need after coming back. I'm so thankful for these wonderful, spirit-filled women who have been a part of my life for the past 4 years.
We have also been so blessed by everyone who wants to loan/give us things their own sons have outgrown. I can't begin to thank everyone who has been so generous! These boys will be 2 of the most stylish boys ever to arrive in America!
I am very humbled when I look back over the process and the friends I have made over this journey. While the timeline shows a little over a year for this process, this has really been an almost 5 year journey for us. It was on my ACTS retreat in June 2007, that I first realized this would be God's plan for us. Drew would only be a month old at that time and Sam wouldn't be born for another year. Through the ups and downs of the other things we tried, I look back now and realize that these boys weren't ready to join our family until now and that's why we've waited. A simple conversation with Julie in November 2010 set us on the path to these 2 boys.
Updated timeline of our international adoption process:
12/15/10 - First meeting with Little Miracles (LMI) in Amarillo
2/4/11 - Application accepted by LMI
3/1/11 - Adoption Contract accepted by LMI, begin paperwork
4/25 & 27/11 - Home study interviews
6/28/11 - application submitted to USCIS
8/29/11 - approval from USCIS
9/8/11 - Dossier complete and ready for submission to Hungary
11/29/11 - Received referral acceptance call and saw pictures of the boys for the 1st time
12/16/11 - Changed our lives for ever (better!) with a simple "Yes"
1/23/12 - Received USCIS approval
1/26/12 - Received travel call
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